


A Sound in Silence

by NanakiBH



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bad Ending, Blow Jobs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-09-01
Packaged: 2017-12-24 06:29:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/936507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when he'd given up on finding a happy ending...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Game Over

**Author's Note:**

> Shock. This has nothing to do with Kink Bingo. I watched Noiz's bad ending in Re:Connect and it still left me with a lot of questions. Namely, in reality, what happened to them after that? Were they hospitalized? Would Toue take them? Would they ever snap out of it? What would happen to everyone else as a result? So, this is my attempt to answer some of those questions.
> 
> The more I think about this, I'm actually quite tempted to add another chapter or two. No promises, but I have ideas.

For the longest time, there was nothing; only the darkness that surrounded them, the gruesome, cacophonous sounds of tearing flesh, and the pain shared between their bodies. Time healed what wounds they gave each other, only to begin the cycle anew. It was an unending paradise of torture, one that Aoba lost the strength to escape from. The only respite he found was in the moments when their bodies became so ragged that even their limbs failed to respond, when he could lay there, wrapped in Noiz's arms, unmoving, numbed by the pain so intense that it stole the very breath from his lungs.

How long they'd been there, he couldn't say. There were no clocks in that place, no walls on which to hang them. Time itself may as well have not existed. It felt like forever the first time, when Noiz first penetrated him and he waited and screamed and waited for it to end. There was no end, though. Of that, he became painfully aware, and painfully accepted that the unreality around him was going to be his new reality, all because he failed.

Do or die. That was how Scrap seemed to work.

Being human, he couldn't help but search for a shred of hope among the gore and puddles of blood around them. He felt the need to try, even if speaking tore apart his vocal chords and made the walls of his throat erupt.

He tried. He continued to try.

But Noiz never heard him.

The only comfort he found was in knowing that Noiz was happy. Even if it were a happiness built upon something unreal, it was real to Noiz, so that was all that had to matter. Even if he failed, he was the one who gave Noiz that happiness. Even if it all felt wrong, he tried to tell himself that it was alright that way.

He had to accept it, otherwise the future looked too dark. He had to adapt. That place was where they were going to live, forever together. He made his move, it formed a decision, and that was the result. He had to accept it.

It was a long, long time before his heart finally accepted that. He had no way to tell what had happened to his body in the real world, but he lost his concern for it when he embraced Noiz's mind as his new home. He never expected to make it out again, to see granny or any of his friends, or live the rest of his life in the real world with Noiz. What surrounded them wasn't real, but if Noiz had accepted it as his reality so easily, then he could as well.

Maybe that was when it happened. When he finally accepted things the way that Noiz wanted them to be, he felt his heart relax. When he gazed upon Noiz's vacant, satisfied expression, it was like looking into a mirror. Aoba felt himself smiling while fresh tears ran down the side of his face and merged with the bloody fingerprints on his cheeks. Noiz had shifted to embrace him and the pain his movement caused suddenly felt so different that Aoba couldn't explain it with any words from the real world.

'Theirs'. If he had to choose a word, that would be it. It wasn't real, but it could've been, and it was theirs.

When he closed his eyes, an unusual feeling filled his chest. For the first time since they entered that dark eternity, he felt like he may finally be allowed the sleep he'd been denied. He was always tired, his mind ravaged by excruciating pain, but there was no way to sleep when his mind was already drifting in a certain state of unconsciousness. The only escape he had were those fleeting moments of numbness, but finally, after so long, he felt something like sleep approaching.

With his eyes closed, he felt himself drifting deeper into the darkness; deeper, deeper, until, to his surprise, there was a light.

He opened his eyes into a place he didn't recognize.

There was a ceiling above him. The place he shared with Noiz didn't have anything, so it couldn't be the same. He was... somewhere else.

He felt exhausted, but he didn't want to let his eyes close, no matter how much they wanted to. That dangerous spark of hope in his chest weakly started to come alive again, excited to see something other than endless darkness. That ceiling was the first unique thing he'd seen in ages.

There was a sound suddenly, like a lock clicking out of place, a door being opened, and then, before he knew it, there were people surrounding him, gazing down at him from above with serious, concerned faces. He didn't recognize any of them, but he hadn't been gone for so long that he couldn't recognize that they were nurses by what they were wearing.

Slowly, it occurred to him that he had to be in a hospital. If he weren't in the darkness anymore, then there was a chance he was back in the real world.

But that meant that they'd been separated. Noiz's arms were no longer around him. The suffocating pain had disappeared. It hurt so much, but it was also what made their world constant and reliable.

With a startled, audible breath, he realized that he missed it, that thing that was 'theirs'.

And Noiz was...

He struggled to speak with all of his strength. The nurses around him urged him to relax, not to exert too much effort, but there were urgent questions on the tip of his tongue, things that he needed to ask them.

When he tried to speak next, his voice came out so clearly that it surprised his own ears. He expected to feel his throat tearing, but there was none of that. His head felt tired and clouded, but he could speak clearly.

“Noiz. Where is Noiz?” he asked.

The nurses didn't answer him immediately. They looked at each other. They seemed to be debating what to tell him. It probably didn't take them more than a minute to arrive at an answer, but in those tense seconds, his mind was filled with all of the worst possibilities. Their faces said all that his heart had to know to be crushed.

One of them looked to the side. Her gaze fixed steadily on one place and Aoba turned his head weakly to the side to see where she was looking.

“He's still like that,” she said.

In the bed next to his, Noiz lay with his eyes closed, his arms at his sides. It didn't require a lot of thought for Aoba to understand what she was telling him. She elaborated, handing him the answers to the things that he wanted to know most.

They were left at the hospital by two men who claimed to be friends of theirs, though neither of them had returned to visit them since then. They were still in Midorijima, and they'd been at the hospital for around five months already, living on life support. There was a calendar on the wall. If the room felt a little cold, it was because it was going to be winter soon.

The ones who left them at the hospital gave them all the information about them they needed to contact their families. She told him that his grandmother came to visit him all the time, nearly every day. Sometimes, a man in a red kimono came with her and sat silently at his bedside. There was also a peculiar, yet friendly man in a gas mask who came by every now and then as well.

From the sound of it, though, no one came to visit Noiz. They contacted his family, but no one came to see him. It was sad, but it made an awful amount of sense when Aoba thought about what Noiz told him about his family. Only his brother might've cared about him, but he probably wasn't even old enough to fly in an airplane by himself if he wanted to come see him.

The doctors were all baffled by their condition. The ones who brought them left before giving any explanation of what happened to them. As far as they could tell, they were both in a coma. Aside from the light burn and cuts on Noiz's hands, they didn’t find anything else wrong with them to indicate what caused their condition. Of course, Aoba knew, and he wanted to tell them that it was all his fault, but he doubted that they would believe him, so he kept it to himself.

He had to lie when they asked.

Once they were sure that he was alright, they told him that they were going to call his grandmother to let her know that he was awake. That was alright with him, because, unlike the doctors, she probably understood what happened to them. She knew about the sensitive, precarious power of Scrap. So much was unknown about his ability though, so she must not have been able to help them either if they had been unconscious for five months.

 

Time passed quickly while he was awake. When granny showed up in the doorway, she moved faster than he'd ever seen to reach his bedside. Normally, if he did something that worried her, she would've acted angry, but she didn't even have the ability to hide how worried she'd been. The sound of her sobs filled him with guilt. When he told her it was his fault, she just clung to him more tightly. It felt familiar and made him feel a little better when she reprimanded him, but he still believed that it was his fault, no matter what she said. She said that he didn't have complete control over his power, but he was sure there was something he could've done to make things go differently.

As soon as Koujaku heard that he was awake, he showed up as well. Aoba tried to act happy to see him, but nothing could make him smile while Noiz was still laying silently beside him, oblivious to the world around him. Seeing him like that, Aoba had to wonder if he were still trapped in that dark place. Did Noiz notice that he was gone? Was he lonely?

Aoba may have felt distracted, but he wasn't so dense that he couldn't see the look behind Koujaku's eyes as he stared at Noiz. It would've been silly to think that he was holding onto the little grudge the two had against each other over Rhyme and Rib, so it had to be something else.

He was jealous.

It wasn't like Noiz could do anything in the state he was in. He wasn't going to suddenly throw a punch, didn't even have the ability to taunt him, but Koujaku acted like he was standing in between them, separating him from Aoba. The kind of concern he showed when he visited was... overbearing. He didn't seem like the same Koujaku who Aoba remembered. No one seemed quite the same anymore.

His absence sent a tremor through Midorijima. Things changed. The world outside the hospital window looked darker than he remembered. Despite all better judgment, Aoba wished he could return to the dark, quiet place he shared with Noiz inside his mind. At least when he was there, they were together, and he didn't have to know how the town had changed without him.

The nurses informed him that he was going to have to stay in the hospital for a while until his body regained its strength. As one might expect, laying in a bed for five months straight had done a number on him, leaving him just as weak physically as he felt emotionally. Once he was awake, it was his hope that Noiz would find his way out of the dark as well.

It came as a shock to him when Mizuki showed up out of the blue one day, but his presence strengthened Aoba's hope. If he had managed to come back after nearly being broken by Scrap, then there was a chance that Noiz might as well.

So he waited.

It was hard to sleep when he knew that Noiz was still unconscious, and he had to force himself to eat sometimes, but he never let go and always tried to hold onto his hope. Before they reached the top of Oval Tower, he promised Noiz that he would show him that the world wasn't a cruel place. If he still intended to uphold that promise, then he knew he had to regain his strength.

Granny, Mizuki, and Clear continued to visit him, but Koujaku seemed to come around less and less. While Aoba continued to recover, it was like Koujaku expected him to 'come to his senses'. He even said so once, though he may not have used those exact words.

He thought it was useless, that Aoba was wasting his time caring about someone who wasn't worth his attention anymore.

No – it wasn't that, exactly.

Koujaku never thought that Noiz was worth his attention. From the moment they met, he disliked him. Koujaku could be stubborn and bull-headed, but he was never so cruel that he'd hate someone who he barely knew. Yet, there was something about Noiz that made him angry in a way that Aoba had never seen.

It could've been jealousy, but maybe he felt a little abandoned too, like Noiz had left before he'd even had the opportunity to settle things with him. Whether it was a feud over who had the rights to Aoba's attention or not, Noiz had left him without a satisfying conclusion.

It was alright if Koujaku didn't come around anymore, Aoba decided. His own thoughts were enough – he didn't need to hear anyone else's negativity. There was a significant difference between them anyway: Koujaku may have given up on seeing Noiz again, but he hadn't. Aoba may have left him in that place, weak and alone with no one else to help him, but he had faith that Noiz could still find the means within himself to escape.

Aoba kept waiting and waiting and eventually they told him that he would be able to leave the hospital.

He was discharged, but he didn't really leave. He still went back to the hospital every day to check on Noiz.

It made him feel guilty to see him laying there, with tubes attached to his arms, without an expression on his sleeping face. It was his fault in the first place, but that wasn't what made him feel guilty. While he was still in the darkness of Noiz's heart, he made up his mind and decided that he was going to stay there with him, but then, when he saw that light approaching, he didn't think twice about moving toward it. He left him there.

His thoughts strayed towards some awful, unfortunate things when he sat by his bedside.

Was he ever going to wake up?

If he did, would he even be the same person anymore?

But Aoba refused to let himself form any answers. There was only one conclusion. Even if Noiz never awoke, he was going to take responsibility.

He was going to stay with him for as long as it took; forever, if that were how it was meant to be.

 

The world around him felt quieter and even more desolate than the dark place in Noiz's mind after he was discharged. Aoba went about work with half a heart. The other half was left there at Noiz's bedside. None of his friends had a reason to go to the hospital to see him anymore, so he was alone most of the time. It killed him to know that he was worrying granny, but he didn't have any other choice.

He had no one but himself to blame for the lifeless void his life had become. The nurses seemed to find something romantic about his devotion, but he knew that they wouldn't have felt so fondly about him if they knew that he was the one responsible for Noiz's condition.

Could Noiz feel his pain?

When he was sitting beside him, gripping his hand, could Noiz feel the ache in the depths of his heart? Would he even be able to recognize what was real?

A sound sliced the silence.

It was nothing more than a breath, but it tore through his thoughts and responded to the roiling questions in his head like an answer.

Aoba was resolved to stay by his side forever. He waited however long it took to accept that he may never see Noiz open his eyes. He was willing to keep waiting, even if the day never came when he came back to him, so that was why it was almost impossible for him to believe it when he heard Noiz's breathing change, when he saw his eyelashes flutter.

He knew that he should hit the button to call the nurses, but he felt paralyzed by the look in Noiz's eyes. It seemed that he was going through the same motions that he did when he first awoke, when he stared up at the ceiling, looked around, and finally realized that he wasn't trapped in the darkness anymore. When his eyes were surveying the room, they looked at Aoba steadily. His mouth worked silently and eventually formed a word – his name.

“Aoba.”

Aoba's heart swelled with many feelings, and he surged forward, wrapping his arms around Noiz's shoulders. Noiz still looked too weak to move, but he placed his chin on Aoba's shoulder and rested his head against the side of his cheek.

“It wasn't real,” he said, his voice distant, ponderous. “It wasn't real, was it...”

There was only one thing he could've been talking about, so Aoba didn't have to ask. It sounded like his question was rhetorical, like he'd realized it on his own, but Aoba couldn't think of a way to respond to him.

“I'm sorry,” he told him.

“No, I...”

He stopped him before Noiz could make any excuses for him. “It was my fault that we ended up in that place. It was my fault that we suffered. I... I know that I'll probably never be able to make up for the time that was taken from you. I'm sorry, Noiz. I'm so sorry.”

A long silence followed. Worried that his apology had fallen on deaf ears, Aoba loosened his hold and sat back to take a look at Noiz's face. Unfortunately, there was no way to gauge what he was thinking from his stoic expression.

Noiz slowly shook his head, looking like he was still thinking about something. “It hurt,” he said.

“N-no. That... That was only an illusion created by your own mind. It was fake, like the pain you feel in Rhyme.”

Noiz didn't seem to be listening to him. He looked away and flexed his fingers. Before Aoba could do or say anything to stop him, he dug his nails into the back of his wrist and tore through his skin, leaving four brilliantly red parallel lines behind. Aoba looked at him, ready to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, but stopped short when he saw the way his eyes were narrowed.

He had to remind himself to breathe. “You felt that?”

Noiz closed his eyes tiredly and laid back down, rubbing the marks on his wrist. “A part of me always expected you to leave. I never understood your generosity. A person like me – I was undeserving.” He held his hand out in front of him to watch the welts rise. “I've felt lonely before. I knew what that was like. I could have probably even described it as a 'painful' feeling, even if I couldn't explain why. When you left, the pain didn't leave me, but I started to miss you. I was alone, and the lonelier I felt, the more I began to feel something else. It was unpleasant; a feeling in my chest I'd never felt before. I hated it, but I didn't understand why.”

Unable to hold himself back, Aoba reached out and grabbed his hand and held it against his chest. He opened his mouth, but closed it. All that would've come out would have been more apologies and he knew that Noiz didn't want to hear them.

“I didn't have a way to really hurt myself, so I couldn't tell. I was always... You tried to tell me.” He looked away, but Aoba could still see the way his lips drew into a tight line. “I started to wonder why you left. It didn't seem like you. You, the Aoba who was always so selfless, wouldn't have left me alone like that. When I realized that I'd been doubting you, the feeling inside of me got worse. It took me all that time to realize that there was no point in waiting for you to come back, because I wasn't the one who was waiting.”

“Noiz...”

Noiz rolled himself onto his side, facing him. He tightly shut his eyes and squeezed Aoba's hand. “It hurt,” he hissed from between his clenched teeth.

Aoba never wanted to let go of the hand he held. “I won't leave you. Ever. I promise, Noiz.”

Once he made sure for himself that Noiz was alright, Aoba called for the nurses. They were astounded that he was awake and were even more surprised by what lucid condition he was in right after regaining consciousness. Noiz told them that it felt no different than waking up from a dream, which was exactly how Aoba remembered it as well.

After they finished fussing over him, they came to the same conclusion that they did with Aoba. He would have to stay there until he was strong enough to leave.

There were no answers that could satisfy their confusion, but everyone was happy that Noiz was conscious. That was all they could hope for, so they didn't need anything else. It just made Aoba happy to know that he wasn't the only one excited to see him awake.

On their way out, he received a few knowing winks and they were also oddly specific about when they would return to check on him...

Noiz released a long sigh when they were gone and his head sunk deeper into the pillow beneath him. “I feel exhausted.”

“Yeah, the nurses around here can be a little hard to handle,” he agreed, turning a relieved smile toward Noiz.

“Nah, I mean.” He turned his palm over on the bed, indicating that he wanted Aoba's hand. Aoba obliged, and linked their fingers together. “It hurt to be without you. I never knew that a feeling could wear me out like this.”

Hearing that made Aoba want to apologize again, but he held his tongue. He was glad he was safe and, for the most part – physically, at least – unhurt. He just couldn't believe that he awoke without a grudge. His worst fear had been dispelled. The Noiz he had in front of him was the Noiz he remembered, as hard as it was to believe.

“Are you... _really_ alright? You can be mad at me, you know.”

Noiz blinked at him slowly, then closed his eyes with a soft laugh through his nose. “Why, though? I can feel your hand.”

“But... Why?” He failed at Scrap. How could that have happened when he failed to reach Noiz's heart with his voice?

With his eyes still closed, Noiz shrugged. “Does it matter? I'm not going to question it.” He cracked open an eye. It must've been the despondent look he saw on Aoba's face that prompted him to continue. “I think I could feel you here. That's why.”

“But how?”

Noiz's eyes focused on the ceiling while he spoke, as if he were reading from his memories. “I looked all over for you there. When I couldn't find you, I started to wonder if that world was really real or not. It was just a small thought at first, but as I thought about it more, the pain in my chest grew. It was the thought that you might be somewhere else waiting for me that made it worse. I guess, when I realized that the feeling inside of me was real pain, I realized that you'd actually been here next to me the whole time.”

Aoba put his other hand to his mouth in thought. “So the things you felt kind of 'fed' each other. Thinking about me made you hurt, and hurting made you think about me enough to realize what was real – that I was here.”

He nodded. “Probably.”

“Gosh, when you put it like that, it still makes me feel bad,” Aoba sighed. “You can feel again because I made you feel like shit.”

“Hey, it worked. I ain't gonna question it, alright?” He gave another soft laugh and squeezed Aoba's hand to make him look at him. “If you're so determined to feel bad about it, then you can pay me back however you like. There's a lot of lost time we need to make up for. I'm sure you can think of something.”

“I'm glad you're already feeling well enough to sound like your usual, perverted self,” Aoba replied stiffly.

As much as he wanted to joke around with Noiz, he couldn't bring himself to feel as happy or as relieved as he wanted to. There were still a lot of other problems that needed to be resolved. Paying so much attention to Noiz caused him to neglect his friends. He had to at least call granny to let her know that Noiz was awake. He couldn't bear to let her worry for another second.

He quickly told Noiz about their visitors, and tried to explain the unusual distance that started to form between him and the others during his stay at the hospital. Aoba wasn't sure if it were the right time to tell him, but he also let him know that his family hadn't come to visit him, even though they had been contacted. He didn't seem surprised. Noiz did, however, ask something that surprised him.

“What was up with Koujaku?”

Aoba tilted his head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean? Could you tell when he was here?”

Noiz squinted, looking unsure of that himself. “Dunno. I could feel something that was really 'Koujaku', though. Only one guy I know could have an aura that foul.” He received a light jab to the shoulder. “Ahch- Sorry,” he chuckled. “While I was in there, I felt something weird, though.”

“Don't talk in riddles now. Explain,” Aoba demanded.

“It was more than weird. It was dark. I mean, I was already in a dark place, but every now and then, I thought I could see something rising up at the edge of the darkness. It was just as dark as what was around me, so it was hard to see what it was. I only saw it a few times, and I never got a good look at it, but it looked all... tangled? Like a mess of knots. Don't ask me why, but it just felt like Koujaku to me.”

It was pointless to think about it when he didn't understand what Noiz was talking about. He did have the vague feeling that there was something wrong with Koujaku, though. Something even concerned him about the way Clear acted around him, but to a lesser degree. When they were in the room, something felt different. They looked at him expectantly. Maybe Koujaku's sudden shift in attitude was about more than he thought.

Maybe he and Noiz weren't the only ones affected by his failure...

Aoba shuddered to think about it, but he still had to ask. “Do you think Koujaku has a dark place inside of him, too?”

Noiz didn't hesitate with his answer. “Yeah, probably. Wouldn't anyone?”

If that were true then... Then what? He didn't know if he could even use Scrap anymore, but he refused to use it again to find out. He already told himself that in the past, but this time, it was for real. He wasn't going to let what happened to Mizuki and Noiz happen to anyone else. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take. If he had to help Koujaku and the others reconcile with the darkness inside of them, he was going to have to find another way to do it.

After all, Noiz had managed to come out of it alright somehow. It sounded possible that he didn't have to use Scrap at all.

Despite everything, he found the ability to smile. “Thanks, Noiz.”

“Huh?” Noiz tiredly lifted his pierced eyebrow.

“N-nothing,” Aoba stuttered. He looked down at their joined hands and placed his other hand over them. “I just feel a lot stronger all of a sudden, thanks to you.”

He felt about as tired as Noiz looked. After all of that, he was ready to lay down and sleep for a week. (Although, that probably wasn't something he should even say in jest, lest it happen again.) Eventually, he was going to have to get up and go back home. He couldn't stay there all night.

Another silence fell between them, making his eyelids and his heart both feel heavier.

Before he fell asleep right there, Aoba decided to stand up, but the second he was on his feet, he was pulled back down by the hand that was still linked with his. With a surprising amount of strength for someone in his state, Noiz pulled him across him. Using his other hand, he cupped Aoba's jaw and guided their lips together.

It was just as sudden and confident as any of Noiz's other kisses. As Noiz's tongue glided over his, Aoba breathed in his scent, letting it fill his senses, and let his lips curve into a smile against his. Their kiss quickly became much gentler, and he felt his fears being swept away, soothed away one by one by his lips.

As they slowly broke apart, Aoba noticed a curious, almost timid look in Noiz's eyes.

“You missed me?” he asked.

Aoba pulled him into a firm hug, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “Isn't that obvious?”

And just because Noiz was awake, that didn't mean he wasn't going to miss him when he left. But he felt stronger, knowing that the pain they felt in their hearts was something that bonded them and kept them together.


	2. Continue?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up writing more.

Aoba never thought he'd be happy to see that odd outfit again, but it felt like a relief to finally see Noiz looking like Noiz again. There was nothing flattering about the hospital gown, but it made Noiz look like a different person, exposing his true self. All of his usual layers and piercings were like armor, protecting the fragile boy that lay beneath the surface; the one he met while they were trapped together inside his heart.

Knowing how his appearance conflicted with his true self made him seem even cuter, in a way.

To the very last day of Noiz's stay, no one came to visit. Aoba kept crossing his fingers, silently hoping that someone from his family might show up before he got discharged, but all of his wishing went nowhere. Surprisingly, his granny came to visit a few times. At first, she only seemed interested in Noiz's reactions to Scrap, and how he'd managed to resurface his consciousness after being knocked out, but, as she spent more time around him, she started to take a more personal interest in him. Before long, she was the one bringing him donuts and other home cooked treats. Aoba suspected that she enjoyed feeding him so much because she just wanted to hear his quietly muttered 'thank you'.

Whether or not Aoba told her that he had feelings for Noiz, he had the feeling that she knew. She reminded him that he didn't have to feel guilty or indebted to Noiz. Instead, she told him to look at him as another person who went through the same life-altering experience that he went through. It was something that made them different from everyone else, that connected them on a level that the average person could rarely achieve.

Things changed when Aoba failed. They changed while he was in the hospital, and things were continuing to change. The first step he took out of the hospital with Noiz felt like the first step into a wavering, uncertain, and exhilarating future.

There were a lot of things Aoba wanted to ask him; things that he didn't feel right asking while Noiz was still in the hospital. All of his questions fought for dominance, each one begging to spill from his lips, but there was one that pressed more insistently at the front of his mind than any of the others.

 

“Where are you going to go now?”

They were on the sidewalk outside of the hospital. Noiz walked in front of him at a slow gait. Aoba didn't know where they were going, but Noiz wasn't telling him to get lost, so he assumed that he should continue to follow him until they got wherever they were headed. Come to think of it, he'd never seen Noiz's place before. When he heard where Ruff Rabbit originated, it gave him the impression that he lived at least a few towns away.

Noiz didn't look behind himself to answer, his step unfaltering. “Home.”

“That's within walking distance, I hope?”

He nodded.

Good. At least they could get there on foot. Even if the hospital thought Noiz was well enough to let him go, that didn't stop Aoba from worrying about him.

“So... Where is it exactly?” He jogged a little faster to catch up to Noiz's side. He glanced over his shoulder and realized that Noiz was following a map on his coil. The point marked on the GPS looked like a place Aoba recognized. “Oh, it's an apartment.” Wait a minute. “Are you sure you even still have a place? You've been gone for like half a year. You realize that they could've tossed all your stuff out, right?”

“It should be fine. I had my rent paid up for a whole year and the super's a cool guy.” Noiz pushed a hand under his hat to scratch the back of his neck. “I hope there weren't any break-ins while I was gone, though. That would suck.”

Suck? That would more than suck. The way Noiz slipped it in there sounded so casual that Aoba had to wonder if he actually cared about whether anyone took all of his stuff or not. That reminded him of something Noiz told him a while back, while they were walking around together in Platinum Jail. Aoba wasn't interested in Noiz because of his money, but apparently he had a lot of it. He didn't seem very attached to anything; his possessions, his Allmates, even his own life – nothing held any special importance to him. He could keep busting and replacing his Allmates as many times as he wanted. If anyone stole his computer or whatever he had in his apartment, who cares? He could buy another.

The only thing he seemed protective of was... Well...

It made Aoba feel presumptuous or arrogant to even think it, but _he_ was the only thing Noiz seemed to care about. It was flattering, in a way, but also very concerning. He was going to have to find him a hobby or something – something that wasn't Rhyme, that he could hold a healthy interest in.

As it turned out, Noiz's apartment wasn't that far from the Old District. It was no wonder he found it so easy to stalk him. It was an area Aoba was familiar with. Every now and then, he had to make a delivery there, but it wasn't an area that he enjoyed visiting. To put it gently, it was a bit shady. The buildings lining the streets looked like they hadn't been maintained in ages. In the waning evening light, signs flickered with half of their letters illuminated, and even though it couldn't have been later than six o'clock, most of the shops were already closed. A number of them were boarded up, out of business, but Aoba suspected that many of them turned in early to avoid the wrong kinds of customers. It was a wonder that anyone stayed in business in such a place.

“Why the heck do you live here?” Aoba asked, keeping his voice low, just in case there were any unfavorable sorts around.

“Doesn't really matter where I stay,” he said. Now that Noiz was in a place he recognized, he didn't need to use his map anymore, so he slowed down to walk next to Aoba. “I guess I'm the leader of Ruff Rabbit, but they can function on their own without me. It's not like in Rib where having a physical leader is important. Most of our members probably don't even know what I look like.”

Aoba grinned and held one hand coyly against his cheek. “Oh, how mysterious. I guess I should feel more honored to know the head of Ruff Rabbit in person, then.”

“Hardly,” Noiz said with a huff. “I'm nothing special.”

Noiz's hands were just hanging there at his sides, looking like an invitation, so Aoba snatched one in his hand. Normally, something like that would've destroyed him with embarrassment, but there weren't many people around to notice.

“I dunno about that. It's not like I'm into Rhyme or anything, but I'd say it's pretty incredible that you managed to unify so many people under a common interest. Heck, you have the biggest Rhyme group, don't you? I'm willing to bet that it's more popular than Rib now because of you.”

Tilting his head slightly to the side, Noiz cast a glance in Aoba's direction. It was hard to tell, but Aoba thought he looked a little flattered. “If you say so, I guess that's how it is,” he muttered, tugging his hat down over his forehead. Internally, Aoba patted himself on the back.

Suddenly, Noiz let go of his hand, and used it to point up ahead of them, to one of the buildings on the other side of the street. Aoba squinted his eyes and tried to pinpoint the place he was indicating. “The top floor of that one?” he asked, pointing at it himself, as if that would help solidify the answer that he couldn't quite believe.

“Yeah. You aren't afraid of heights, are you?”

He wasn't, but he hadn't expected Noiz to be living on the very top floor of any of these places. The apartment they were approaching ran a business out of the ground floor, one of the few places in the area Aoba didn't mind. It was an average-looking beverage store, but he always suspected that it was just a front for whatever other dealings went on in the floors above it. Knowing that Noiz lived there now somehow made it feel less shady, though.

Beneath the cracked awning, the wooden door at the front was set into a dark nook, and its rusted knob gave a grating screech as it was turned. A pair of hollow chimes announced their presence, clanking against the back of the door as they entered. Aoba shuffled in behind Noiz, instinct telling him to stay close to him and to keep his head down. A quick glance in either direction allowed him to breathe easier when he realized that there wasn't anyone else around, aside from the man attending the register.

The man looked up from the magazine he was reading when they entered and his eyes instantly became wide when he saw who was standing in the doorway.

“Whoa, you're actually back.” He sounded more impressed than surprised. Perhaps he'd won a bet.

Noiz nodded his head once. “Hey.”

The guy at the counter leaned to the side, like he was trying to look around Noiz to see who was standing next to them. Feeling nervous, Aoba took a step to the side and finally looked up to have a better look at the man for himself. It had been a while, but he was pretty sure he recognized him from his last visit. It had certainly been a while, but he wouldn't forget that bald head. At the time, he remembered thinking that he could've been fine friends with his own manager at Heibon.

“Are my eyes deceiving me? Is that the Heibon delivery kid? Didn't you disappear, too?” he asked, sounding properly astonished.

Aoba bowed his head politely as way of hello. “We were...” He trailed off, looking up at Noiz for a second to judge whether it was alright to tell this man where they'd been and what happened to them. Even if Noiz weren't the most talkative person, the man seemed like he had been concerned for him. It would probably do Noiz some good to embrace those who cared. “We were in the hospital for a while. We, uh... Got caught up in some things. You know how it is.”

Hopefully, especially in this area, he knew 'how it was'.

He hummed to himself with his eyes closed, nodding his head. “Right, right. No need to tell me the specifics. I know how this one likes his privacy.” When he opened his eyes, he gave them a wide smile that creased the corners of his eyes. “I'm Sano, by the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself to ya.”

“Aoba,” he said in return.

“Are you and this guy friends? It'd be pretty handy if the Heibon kid was friends with one of our residents.”

Aoba blinked when he realized that Noiz was no longer standing next to him. Without him noticing, he had slipped over to one of the magazine racks by the door and was idly leafing through a PC magazine, making faces at it each time he flipped a page. “Yeah, we're kind of friends. Something like that.”

“Well, don't be a stranger. I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes seeing you around here. You've got a certain charm about you, ya know?” Sano waved a hand around in the air as he tried to explain. The customers who liked him for his charm normally creeped Aoba out, but Sano reminded him too much of Hata for it to bother him. Sano's smile was also quite disarming. “You bring along this light with you. Your presence is the kind of thing this dusty old town needs.”

Hearing him say that, a bell went off in Aoba's head.

Was that why everything changed when he was gone? He never wanted to believe that his voice had any significant ability, but his voice and his presence really did affect people.

“Thanks,” he said, for more reasons than Sano was aware of. “You'll probably see me around. This kid would just get in trouble without me, so I can't leave him alone.”

Sano slapped a hand on the counter and laughed. “Yeah. Yeah, that sure sounds like him. Actually, it's really good to know you're his friend. I was starting to worry that he didn't have any.”

At the sound of rustling pages, Aoba looked behind himself to find Noiz looking up from the magazine. He stared straight ahead for a few seconds, like he was thinking deeply about something, then glared over his shoulder at Sano. “I can take care of myself. Don't tell him unnecessary things.”

Aoba stared at him, trying to figure out what was on Noiz's mind. Had he really never realized that there were people who could care about him? Because of his inability to feel pain, he also lost the ability to empathize. Now that he could feel, was he realizing the way that Sano felt about him?

“I'll keep an eye on him for you,” Aoba said, and left it at that. He was ready to add a 'don't worry' to the end of his sentence, but he stopped himself before the words could pass his lips. In actuality, he was glad that Sano had worried about Noiz, and, if anything, he would've liked to thank him for that.

When Aoba saw the warm smile on Sano's face, he realized that he shouldn't hesitate to believe that he'd brightened his day.

“If there's anything you guys need, don't hesitate to ask, alright? I'll be right here,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

Noiz straightened the pages of the magazine he'd been flipping through and placed it back neatly in between the others on the shelf. “I'll let you know after I check out my place. I'm hoping it's not a mess. And we'll probably need something to eat.” As he talked, he started heading for the doors on the other side of the shop. He paused and looked at Aoba. “You're staying here tonight, right?”

...When had that been decided?

“I...” Aoba nervously looked back at Sano, who was now leaning his elbows over the counter, supporting his chin in his palms. It felt weird to admit that he was spending the night in Noiz's place when Sano was right there. However, he didn't have much of a choice when Noiz was looking at him so expectantly. To save himself some embarrassment, he lowered his voice, hoping that only Noiz would hear him. “I can, if that's what you want. I'll have to call granny to let her know.”

Satisfied with that answer, Noiz kept walking. When he reached the door, he held it open for him. “After you.”

“What, no elevator?”

Behind them, he heard Sano laugh. “Nope, no elevator. Sorry, kid. Enjoy the walk to the top floor.”

He groaned, rubbing his temples. “Again, why the top floor?”

“It's quiet,” Noiz replied simply.

Sano erupted in another fit of laughter, making Aoba groan harder. He pressed past Noiz to enter the stairway and Noiz let the door close behind them. Having a room at the top floor because it was quiet sounded like an excuse that Noiz would have, but he was surprised that he preferred the quietness over the convenience of having a room on a lower level.

By the time they reached the sixth floor, he was already feeling out of breath. It was obvious that he still had to do more exercising to make up for the time he spent laying in bed in the hospital. “Seriously, what's up with this? You, of all people. I thought you would've been on the first floor. That would've been way more convenient than having to walk up a billion flights of stairs,” he said between gasping breaths.

If Noiz felt worn out, he didn't show it. “A lot of my work can be done from here. I don't have to leave much.”

“It's becoming more obvious to me that you never expected to have a boyfriend,” Aoba muttered.

“Hm?”

“Nothing.”

He was about ready to collapse when they reached the top floor. He hadn't counted the windows from the outside, and he hadn't paid attention to how many flights they climbed on the stairs, but if he had to guess, it was around eight. That didn't sound like that many, but his burning thighs begged to say otherwise. He continued to slowly follow Noiz down the hallway until they came to a stop in front of a door. Noiz put his hands in his pockets and dug around until he came up with his key.

“Finger crossed,” he said sardonically, and gave the door knob a turn.

Aoba forgot what he was expecting the second he laid eyes on what was beyond the door. It was already evening, and the sun was about to set, but the curtains were drawn, so the room was bathed in darkness. What his eyes beheld looked like something out of a horror movie. Multiple monitors were arranged on the floor, illuminating the floor in blue and white, the only source of light in the room. Little red and green lights blinked and flickered in other parts of the room, likely switches that belonged to who-knows-what. Aoba couldn't tell in the dark.

He wasn't as tech-savvy as Noiz, but he didn't have to be an expert to know that the computers were all in various states of distress. A couple of them displayed blue screens, a few were waiting at their login screens, and one special monitor was filled with nothing but static.

“ _Fuck._ ”

Noiz sounded more distraught than if someone had actually stolen them.

Aoba was ready to step into the room, to at least try to find a way to turn the lights on, but Noiz held out an arm to keep him back. “Gimme a minute,” Noiz told him, then promptly disappeared into the dark room. Without a single light to guide him, he made his way over to the curtains at the back without running into anything, like he had every inch of the room memorized. With the curtains thrown back, Aoba could finally tell what he was looking at.

A mess.

It wasn't just any mess, though. It was a familiar mess. He recalled what Noiz did to his room at home looking very similar. Apparently he didn't know how to use a computer unless it was sitting on the floor.

There were cords everywhere, tangled around each other, snaking their way across the floor to reach the outlets around the room. Of course, the outlets weren't enough. There had to be at least five power strips with different things plugged into them.

Computers and monitors and other devices aside, he couldn't say much for the rest of the room. As he stepped inside, he noticed a kitchenette to his left and a bathroom to his right, but where did he sleep?

He had to ask. It was too weird not to call attention to it.

“This place has a bedroom, doesn't it?” There was one door unaccounted for and he hoped that that was where it led.

“Nope.” Noiz pointed toward the corner of the room where Aoba spotted a conspicuous mountain of blankets and pillows. “That's where I sleep,” he said. He looked over at the door Aoba had previously been looking at in the middle of the room. “That's just a closet. Where I keep my clothes.”

“I bet it's full of hats,” Aoba said bluntly, then released a long sigh. “You look like you're dying to fix whatever's going on with your computers, so would it be alright if I tried to straighten things up in here? There's dust everywhere.”

Noiz was already on the floor in the middle of his circle of computers before Aoba even finished his sentence. Before his hands reached the mouse in front of him, he looked up and gave Aoba a somewhat guilty look. “I'll be quick. After sitting here like this for months, they're probably already pretty fucked up, but I need to at least turn them off. Or blow some dust out of them. Or...” He hung his head. “Man, I don't know. This sucks.”

It must've been really bad. “So what does this mean? They're all on, so that's still a good sign, isn't it?”

Noiz pulled his hat off and shook out his hair. “Sure, that's the bright side. Problem is, I use these to monitor the game. These five computers are basically the 'headquarters' of Ruff Rabbit. They're only able to gather information on their own as long as my program is running. The power probably went out once or twice, and all of them being left on for so long must not have helped, so that's how they ended up like this.”

“So they haven't been gathering anything,” Aoba concluded.

“Right.”

It was no wonder he was freaking out. Those five computers were how he managed his business. Without the information they would have been picking up for him, he had essentially lost months' worth of work. There was no telling what kind of trouble that spelled for him as the leader of such a large group – not to mention, what that lack of surveillance had done to the group while he was away.

Unfortunately, Aoba doubted there was anything he could do. But if there were, he wanted to be sure, so he asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Noiz handwaved his offer. Aoba couldn't feel like he was being dismissed when he expected that to be the response. “Actually...” Noiz's thin eyebrows pinched together in thought, then he suddenly dove toward one of his computers. He hauled it closer until he had it nearly resting in his lap and turned it around to inspect the back of it where all of its cables were plugged in. With the flick of a single switch at the top, the monitor directly to his right went black. It was the one that displayed the most distressing screen of static, so Aoba doubted that he could've made its condition any worse than what it was already.

He was tempted to ask Noiz what he was doing, but he was mesmerized by the way he handled the machine. Without much finesse, he began pulling out each cable until the back was completely stripped, then he attempted to pry the screws out from the corners of the tower with his bare hands.

“W-what the heck are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself that way,” Aoba interjected. He frantically looked around until his eyes fell on what looked most like what he was searching for. Quickly, he got up and grabbed the small red box from nearby, opened it, and was relieved to find a screwdriver inside. “God, you're going to make your fingers bleed again if you keep tugging on those like that. Use this.”

Noiz looked up when he noticed the proffered screwdriver. He seemed reluctant, but he took it and used it to open the case. The fan's grill on the outside of the case was completely caked in dust, so he wasn't surprised when a whole cloud of dust came billowing out of the computer when Noiz threw down its side panel.

“This is what you get for leaving your computers on the floor,” Aoba said while he watched Noiz gag on a mouthful of dust. There had been a surgical mask in the tool kit for such an occurrence, but a lot of good that was going to do them now that they'd encountered the worst of it.

Once he was done coughing and wiped the corners of his eyes, Noiz was finally able to talk. “Th... Tha...” He took another second to clear his throat and tried again. “Thanks. My throat really burns now.”

“You had a mask in here. Would it be wrong of me to assume that you've never used it?”

He gave Aoba a guilty smirk. “Yeah. Then again, to be fair, I've never seen this much dust around here before.”

With a sigh, Aoba pushed himself up and walked over to the window. The latch on it required some fighting with, but he managed to pull it up far enough to let in some fresh air. “It's not _that_ strange. You were gone for months. The window wasn't opened a single time, nobody came in through the door, and no one was around to dust in here. Meanwhile, your vents were probably pulling in dust from all of the other rooms in the building. With nowhere else to go, it just kept getting sucked into your computers.”

He probably didn't need to explain it to Noiz, though. The awful look on his face indicated that he didn't have to know how it got there to understand the damage it did to his computers.

“There isn't much I can do for it now, aside from dusting it out and leaving it off for a while to cool down. The whole thing overheated. The motherboard might be fried.” He leaned over it, like he was hugging a friend. “Of course, it had to be this one...”

“Something really important on that one?” Aoba asked, coming back to sit near him.

Noiz's gaze drifted to the side and a suspicious grin settled on his lips. “I copied some good stuff from your computer. Sorry?”

“W-wha...! You pervert! What the heck did you take from my computer?”

Wait... Did he even _have_ anything on his computer worth getting embarrassed about? Like any normal guy, he had a porn folder or two, but he didn't recall ever leaving any explicit photos of himself on his computer. Not like he'd never taken any. But he had no one to give them to before.

Looking at that gross smirk on Noiz's face, he wasn't even sure he would want to give him something like that anyway.

“It's alright. I was just joking,” Noiz said, laughing. “Mostly.”

“Mostly...” Aoba echoed.

Now that the dust had cleared from the air, Noiz started looking around inside the computer. “Yeah. I found a few pictures you must've taken with your webcam. That's all I had, though.” He swept a few large dust bunnies out of the bottom of the case and tilted it back to have a closer look. Leaning in so close that his face was nearly inside the computer, he read something off, completely abandoning the previous topic. “ASQ15. You have one of those?”

Aoba wasn't going to let the thing about his pictures go so easily. “I thought you just wanted me to fight you in Rhyme. Why the heck were you taking pictures off my computer?” Quickly, he added, “Yeah, we probably have that. I don't know what it is, but the part number sounds familiar. It might be a little newer than what I'd normally expect to find in our shop, though.”

“If you don't, I might have to order it,” Noiz said. He sat back and put the tower upright, then slid the side panel back on. He didn't bother to screw it in; just left it resting in place for the moment. It probably required a lot more work than he felt like doing. That, or he couldn't do anything until he had the part he was talking about. “I don't know why I took them.”

Confused, Aoba was about to ask him what he was talking about. Somehow, he'd already gotten distracted enough to forget about the pictures. He felt his blood heating up, but the contemplative look Noiz had made him pause. “Somebody wouldn't just steal personal pictures off someone else's computer for no reason. Especially you.”

It wasn't really a big deal. The pictures he took with his webcam weren't anything to be embarrassed about, and, for some reason, the thought of Noiz looking at them wasn't very threatening. The Noiz he met back then, the one who was relentlessly obsessed with making him join his team, wouldn't have been interested in him for anything but Rhyme.

Fingers lightly stroking the top of the computer, Noiz blankly cast his eyes to the floor, thinking. “You were smiling in a few of them. The others weren't really anything special, but I could tell they were candid pictures that you'd taken by yourself. I already had my USB in, so I just tossed them on there. I didn't find anything else useful while I was looking around your room, so I told myself that I was just taking them to feel like I came away with something, but.” He shook his head. “I don't know.”

Aoba scooted closer until his shoulder bumped into Noiz's. “Come on. You sound like you know.”

He liked making Noiz embarrassed. His cheeks would get pink and he'd look a little grumpy. It was an appealing look on him.

He said what he said to get a rise out of him.

He didn't expect to be pinned to the floor the next second with Noiz's hands pressing down into his shoulders. A sudden rush of deja vu hit Aoba hard when he realized that he'd been in a similar position before, except, this time, Noiz had no intention of fighting him. The blush he intended to achieve had indeed reached Noiz's face, but there was something much darker filling his eyes.

“I get it now,” he said, pushing a knee between Aoba's legs to keep them apart. “I couldn't figure it out then because I hadn't experienced anything like it before, but now I know.”

Aoba tried to look elsewhere, feeling Noiz's intense gaze on his face, but it was hard to stay away from it when he was right there. “So?” he asked, heart suddenly pounding as he awaited his answer. “What do you know now?”

“I thought you were cute,” he said. A smile that was difficult to read widened his lips. It looked satisfied, like he was proud that he'd been able to figure out such a simple thing, but there was still something else in his eyes. The closer he got, the more Aoba felt like he was trying to pull him back inside of him, to merge with him until they became one again.

The master of surprises, Noiz grabbed him by the jaw and smashed their lips together. Aoba wanted to tell him that he didn't have to be so forceful about it, but it was useless with Noiz's tongue occupying his mouth. Eventually, the hands that pinned him to the floor relaxed and slid around to his back to hold him and cradle his head, deepening their kiss.

He came along with Noiz because he wanted to make sure that he would be alright in his place – heck, to make sure that he even still _had_ a place – but he should've realized that this would be the real reason Noiz wanted him to come with him.

His body was starting to feel pleasantly numb, responding automatically to the feeling of Noiz's tongue against his own. Noiz carefully rolled them onto their sides, and when their hips connected, Aoba could tell that he was getting hard, too. It filled him with a bit of pride to know that he was finally able to elicit that kind of reaction from him without a lot of effort. Although he tried to make Noiz behave himself in the hospital, they still ended up trying a number of things together, and he'd discovered that Noiz had become rather sensitive since he regained his sense of feeling.

Now Noiz was kind of addicted to touching him.

When his hand reached for his belt, Aoba grabbed him by the wrist and pulled his hand away. He didn't exactly want him to stop, but his mouth hung open awkwardly for a second when he couldn't think of what to tell him. “We should... do this someplace more comfortable, don't you think?” was what he decided to say. Those weren't quite the words he was searching for, but his aching hips and shoulders agreed that the floor was no place for any prolonged activities.

Noiz looked dazed, his lips red and glistening from kissing, but the haze cleared from his gaze the instant he realized what Aoba was saying. The doctor would've been truly impressed with the strength Noiz exhibited when he stood and picked him up in his arms like he weighed nothing at all. Aoba really couldn't remember the last time he'd been held like that, but it was pretty embarrassing. He was glad that the bed was right nearby, otherwise he would've had to yell at him.

He set him down, but Noiz didn't give him any time to arrange himself before his hands were on his belt. Aoba irritably slapped them away, then bopped him on the forehead for good measure, effectively making him sit up and back away.

“Calm yourself, kid. The essence to having good sex is to do it right,” he said, trying to sound convincing. Noiz was the first guy he ever went that far with, but Aoba was positive that he was the one with stronger common sense. “How are we going to be any more comfortable over here when your bed is such a mess?”

“You sure complain a lot,” Noiz muttered.

“Whatever. I'm sure you'll thank me later.”

With Noiz out of his way, he sat up as well and began rearranging the things he had on his 'bed'. From a distance, he hadn't even been a hundred percent sure that it _was_ a bed, but once he moved some of the pillows and blankets around, he could tell that there was a futon underneath. Despite the nearly unlived-in look of his apartment, Noiz had constructed everything in a way that molded around the way he lived. Who needed tables and chairs when he could do all of his work from the floor? Who needed a full-sized bed when a simple futon and some blankets would be comfortable enough? It made sense in a Noiz kind of way.

Once he really started to think about it, as he pushed aside his pillows and straightened his blankets, Aoba realized that what Noiz had was basically a nest. It was a cocoon.

“This is... kind of cute,” he said slowly, holding a pillow. “But also weird. You're kind of a hikikomori, aren't you?”

Noiz grabbed another pillow and shoved it into Aoba's face. “Shut up.”

“Hmm? Don't tell me you're just starting to realize how weird your place is? Not that it's bad. It's very you.”

“Are you sure? The way you said that made it sound like a bad thing,” Noiz said uncertainly, retrieving the pillow he'd thrown at Aoba.

“Not really. I feel like I understand you a bit more just by being here. Other people might think your place is unconventional, but that's why it suits you.” He wedged the pillow he held next to another one against the wall, then flopped back down onto the futon. Satisfied that he didn't feel any pillows awkwardly nudging him in the ass, he gave Noiz a nod and laid his arms out at his sides. “Much better.”

For a minute, Noiz just knelt there with a knee on either side of Aoba's, staring down at him like he was really appreciating the sight. It felt embarrassing to be Aoba, but he told himself to bear with it. For the longest time, Noiz had been deprived of any physical, human interaction. It was only natural that he'd find the sight of someone else laying on his bed interesting. Trying to hide the blush that was sure to be forming on his face, Aoba tilted his chin to the side.

Barely a second passed before he felt Noiz's hand on his cheek. He quickly looked back up and noticed the upward twist of Noiz's brows.

“I'm sorry,” he said quietly. “I meant to say it sooner. I get the feeling I did some pretty messed up things to you when you were in my head.”

“That's not... That wasn't your fault,” Aoba mumbled, unable to meet his eyes, his heart pounding guiltily. He reached up and took Noiz's hand from his cheek, holding it between his. “I know that you weren't in control of yourself there. Your mind was just making you do what it thought was right.”

“But doesn't that mean that a part of me would actually do that? Take advantage of you, that is.”

No. That wasn't how it was. Even if it hurt worse than anything Aoba had ever felt, the pain wasn't intentional. The pain was only there because Noiz longed for it. His actions and his touch were actually very tender, even if the tips of his fingers made his skin crack and split every time they touched him. Yes, he'd tried to call out to him to make him stop, but Noiz couldn't hear him.

Releasing his hand, Aoba placed his hands on the sides of Noiz's face and drew him in for a short, delicate kiss. “It hurt. But the thing that hurt the most was knowing that you didn't intend to hurt me like that, that you just couldn't stop yourself.”

“Aoba...” It felt really special to hear him say his name like that. Their lips met again briefly. “You'd tell me if I ever hurt you, right?”

He laughed and gave him a peck on the nose that made Noiz redden. “I'd kick you.”

“Reassuring,” Noiz replied. A relieved kind of grin replaced his frown, and he straightened back up onto his knees. With no further hesitations, he began unbuttoning the front of his shirt. No matter what he did, nothing could make that outfit look sexy, even if he were taking it off. The tie slid off with a couple tugs, and he shrugged off his shirt, yet there was still another shirt underneath; a true matryoshka of clothing.

Noiz narrowed his eyes when he noticed the way he was looking at him, and Aoba couldn't help but laugh. “How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning?” he asked, sliding back a bit to get out from between Noiz's legs, so he could start undressing himself. He didn't want to let any time go to waste.

“Never thought about it. Sometimes I just sit around in my underwear. I only take the effort to get dressed if I have to leave.”

That was not a bad mental image.

And thanks to that stupidly sexy mental image, he could feel himself getting hard again. By the time he got off his jacket and shirt and reached for his pants, Noiz was already on his last layers. He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the smooth expanse of his chest and abdomen, peppered with gleaming pieces of metal. Showing no shame whatsoever, he pushed his thumbs under his waistband and pulled off his leggings and shorts at the same time. Both were carelessly tossed wherever they decided to fall.

Noiz was already a bit hard himself, it seemed. Seeing the little metal bar that pinched the head of his cock gave Aoba the inexplicable urge to put it in his mouth. His own thoughts shocked him, but it was impossible to deny how much he wanted to touch him.

Somehow, even when he was naked, Noiz didn't seem naked. His piercings made him look tougher than the person he was on the inside. Only the warm tint in his cheeks gave away how vulnerable he really was, and reminded Aoba that he had no reason to feel intimidated.

As Noiz's fingers worked on his belt, Aoba tried to make himself relax some more, letting his head fall into the soft pillows behind him. Taking his focus off of the intense focus Noiz had on what he was doing, he realized that the pillows that surrounded him carried the faint scent of Noiz with them. While he breathed in that pleasant scent, letting it wrap around his senses, he felt his awareness drifting away until he was in a completely calm and relaxed place. Noiz eventually got his pants off of him, but when he wrapped his hand around his cock, all that came from Aoba's lips was a soft hum.

“Comfortable?” Noiz asked, touching him teasingly, toying with the tip of his cock with his thumb.

Aoba's hips twitched, but he tried to keep them down, not wanting to look too excited yet. “It's nice. I think I see the appeal of having so many pillows. It's like laying in a big, fluffy cloud.”

Noiz shrugged with an amused smile. “I just liked them in lieu of real bedding. I could've slept on the floor and not known the difference before.” He leaned closer, kissing Aoba's cheek before whispering in his ear. “I'll have to try out your bed sometime to see the difference.”

Grumbling, Aoba put his hands under Noiz's chin and pushed him away. He was doing so well at keeping his composure, and then Noiz had to go and say something embarrassing like that to get him flustered again. “I'm sure you can find other ways to occupy that dirty mouth of yours than spouting suggestive things like that,” Aoba said.

“Oh?” Noiz grinned. “Well then... If you say so.”

He should've chosen his words more carefully. He looked down his body just in time to see Noiz laying down between his legs. Eyelashes flicking up, Noiz flashed him an impish smile a second before he wrapped his lips around his cock and enveloped him in the sweet warmth of his mouth. The first thing Aoba noticed was how warm and wet and wonderful it felt, but when Noiz began to move, his attention went to an unusual feeling against the underside of his cock. The thought crossed his mind in the past when they kissed, but he hadn't known what it would feel like to have Noiz's tongue ring rubbing against his cock. He wondered if it would hurt, but now he could say for sure that it definitely didn't hurt. It was a little odd, but it also felt really, really good.

The warmth surrounding his cock suddenly disappeared and Aoba lifted his head to look down at Noiz. He was ready to ask him why he stopped, but his breath caught in his throat as he watched Noiz swirl his tongue around the tip of his cock.

“Well? Like it?” he asked.

It was certainly a better application of his mouth than when he used it to make all of those embarrassing remarks, so Aoba had no complaints. He reached out and stroked a hand through Noiz's hair. “It kind of surprised me at first, but yeah. It feels good.”

He may have been a weird guy, but Aoba felt lucky to have him. For all of his strangeness, he was also protective, attentive, and considerate. Aoba felt ashamed knowing that this kid was already such a fantastic lover at his age while Aoba still felt so inexperienced.

The way Noiz used his tongue made his toes curl. He didn't have the best technique yet, but he made up for it all with enthusiasm and an eagerness to please. He used his lips well and the things he did with his tongue felt spectacular, but an uncomfortable look crossed his face whenever he tried to take him deeper, like he was struggling. Aoba gently rested a hand on the back of his head and assured him that he didn't have to force himself to do anything that he couldn't handle. Noiz wasn't one to back down from a challenge, but, after a bit, he seemed to accept his lenience and started to use his hand to make up for what he couldn't reach with his mouth.

Made slick by his saliva, his fingers stroked firmly down to the base of his cock. Whenever he needed to take a breath, Noiz lifted off for a second or two and nuzzled his lips and cheek against his cock, getting the side of his face messy. Aoba wanted to tell him to knock it off with that, but seeing his precum glistening against Noiz's cheek and mouth made it hard for him to speak.

As Noiz moved in to take him into his mouth again, Aoba gently grasped his hair to get his attention. “Y-you don't wanna make me come yet, do you?” he mumbled. He knew that if Noiz kept it up at the pace he was going, it was all going to end before they got to do anything else.

The realization slowly dawned on Noiz's face, and he sat up, wiping the corner of his mouth with a thumb. “Guess I can't blame you. It felt too awesome when you did that for me in the hospital.”

Aoba covered his face with his hands. “Glad you understand.”

His hands were still covering his face, but he lifted one of them to take a peek when he heard some rustling coming from next to him. There, he found Noiz pushing his way through the hill of soft things next to them, searching for something.

“You moved things and I already can't find anything,” he said.

“What are you looking fo-” He stopped when he saw what Noiz uncovered from the pile. Underneath there, he had a stack of miscellaneous things that Aoba must have missed when he started rearranging things. There were some magazines (PC and game-related ones, not the dirty variety), an alarm clock, a box of tissues, and one tube of what was undeniably lubricant that Noiz held triumphantly in his hand.

An awful thought crossed Aoba's mind.

“Don't tell me you kept that there for guests,” he asked warily. He was curious to hear how Noiz might respond, but afraid at the same time.

Noiz stared at him. “Guests? You think I'd let anyone else in here?”

True. This was his fortress; Ruff Rabbit's base of operations. Security didn't look too tight, but he kept his whereabouts to himself, like Sano said.

Aoba was probably one of the few people who had ever entered his room, and that made Aoba feel kind of special.

Noiz uncapped the lid and dripped a bit of it over Aoba's cock, and kept the bottle tipped end-up as he brought it lower, letting some of it drizzle between his legs. With a gasp, Aoba reached down to keep the slippery gel from getting on the sheets.

“You don't want to make a mess, do you?” he asked.

The look on Noiz's face said otherwise. “That might be unavoidable. And do you really think I care?” He grinned, pushing Aoba's knees up. “I'd love to make a mess of you.”

Aoba's heart pounded faster, like he'd just realized where this had all been heading. He and Noiz were really about to have sex. They'd already tried a lot of things together while Noiz was in the hospital, but they'd never done anything in this kind of position. Having his knees spread apart so wide made him feel more exposed than ever. He felt embarrassed, like he wanted to hide himself under the biggest pillow he could find, but he was also excited and silently thrilled that Noiz was so interested in him.

Noiz kept one hand on the underside of one of his thighs and Aoba held back the other one for him. Taking a deep breath, he watched as Noiz rubbed his fingers through the gel over his entrance. His body immediately responded, making him tighten up. He wanted to look away, but his eyes were locked on what Noiz was doing, interested in seeing what he would do next.

“If anything hurts,” he said quietly, stroking his hand over Aoba's thigh, “tell me.”

His ears heard him, but his words registered slowly. Aoba nodded for him to let him know that he understood. He'd already reassured him, but he could tell that Noiz was still concerned after what he'd done to him while they were inside his mind. Noiz didn't want to let something like that happen again.

“I'm not a china doll,” Aoba told him.

And then Noiz pushed one of his fingers inside of him.

It was so sudden and came as such a surprise that Aoba almost bit his tongue. Either way, he was sure that the face he made must've been a humiliating one because Noiz looked like he was holding back a laugh. He moved his finger inside of him slowly, just rubbing and gently curling it to let him adjust to the feeling of having something inside of him.

With a little more coaxing, Aoba felt himself relaxing, his breaths becoming deeper as he got used to Noiz's finger. Noiz must've noticed, because he removed it and it was joined with a second finger a moment later. As they pressed inside, Aoba closed his eyes. He didn't want to watch anymore, feeling too embarrassed to watch him touch him there, but having his eyes closed only made him focus more on the sensation. His fingers scissored inside of him, stretching him open slowly, trying to widen his tight passage. Although he was starting to relax around his two fingers, he knew that he still needed to relax more if he hoped to take Noiz's cock.

He opened an eye and looked around, eventually spotting the tube of lubricant that Noiz left next to the futon. Noiz didn't question what he was up to as he opened it and poured more over the place where Noiz's fingers met his body.

“That ought to help,” he said, putting the tube back where it'd been. He brought his hand to his cock and sighed as he curled his fingers around it. Noiz's fingers moved more freely inside of him with the extra lube, and stroking his still-sensitive cock made him loosen up even further.

Noiz's patience was impressive, but Aoba could tell that he was about ready to snap. His cock looked as hard as it could get, curved up to his tight stomach. Just looking at it, Aoba felt his own cock respond with a twitch against his palm.

“Is that enough?” Noiz asked, his eagerness apparent in his voice.

Nodding hastily, Aoba let go of himself to pull his knees back up to his chest. “Should be. J-just do it.”

That comment awarded him a stern stare from Noiz, but his patience was apparently too thin for him to worry about it for very long. He slipped his wet fingers from Aoba and stroked his palm over his cock to make sure he was slick, then positioned himself at his entrance. As soon as he pressed against him, Aoba's hips jolted, surprised to feel the piercing at the head of his cock nudging against him there. Although he'd found it strange in the past, he'd grown rather fond of his piercings – those ones, at least.

The tip pressed inside with little resistance. Aoba took his bottom lip between his teeth when he felt the piercings along his length slipping inside of him one after the other as he pressed in slowly, all the way to the base. It was no easy task, and it left Aoba feeling like he was being torn open, but he bore with it, biting his lip, knowing that it would start to feel much better soon.

He realized that he'd had his eyes closed when he felt Noiz's hand on his face, stroking his cheek. The affectionate gesture filled his chest with a warm feeling and caused an uncontrollable smile to curl his lips.

“You can move now, if you want,” he told him, brushing his fingers over the back of the hand that held his cheek. “Just go slowly.”

“Right,” he said, taking his hand back, placing it underneath one of Aoba's thighs. He began to move and Aoba whimpered, feeling his piercings dragging as he pulled back. The muscles in his legs flexed, tempted to spread out or push Noiz away, but Noiz held them firmly in place. Biting his lip harder, Aoba held back what would've been a much louder moan as Noiz pushed back inside. He took a nice fistful of the sheets in his hands and clenched them tightly to keep himself grounded.

It didn't hurt, but that faint, raw sensation persisted for a few more thrusts until it was replaced by a much sweeter, pleasurable feeling that fed his arousal and went right to his cock. He felt like he became a different person when he had Noiz's cock in him; the type who was willing to let out embarrassing noises and ask for things he couldn't otherwise imagine himself saying. This time, he didn't need to say anything for Noiz to know exactly what it was he wanted. He could already tell that he was ready for more, so he picked up his pace, sliding his cock into him with greater ease.

It felt amazing, but Aoba wanted more. He wanted something else.

Letting go of the sheets he'd been holding so tightly, he extended his arms, silently begging for Noiz to embrace him. Noiz still had that hazy, lost look on him, but he immediately stopped what he was doing to rearrange them; dropping his hands from Aoba's knees, then leaning in to wrap his arms around his back. The new position brought every part of them closer together. It reeled Noiz in and forced him to keep his thrusts quick and deep. Aoba moaned openly, pressing his forehead against Noiz's shoulder while he rocked his hips, trying to match his pace so that he could feel every inch of him.

Shockingly, Noiz hadn't said a word. Normally, he would've said at least ten kinds of embarrassing things by then, but he was staying suspiciously quiet. Aoba glanced aside to look at his face and felt his pulse quicken when he saw how needy Noiz looked. He'd never seen him making that face before, didn't even know he was capable of looking that erotic.

Aoba heard him say something, but his words were muffled, Noiz's face pressed against his neck.

“I said... this is amazing,” Noiz said when he noticed the curious way Aoba was looking at him. “Really having you here, in my bed like this – it's amazing.”

He could say that again. It _was_ amazing. It was like the exact opposite of what occurred in Noiz's mind. Now, Aoba couldn't believe that there was a time when he'd given up on believing in a future like this; one where he could hold Noiz without any pain, surrounded by nothing but pleasure and warm feelings.

Gently, he took Noiz's face between his palms and pulled him into a kiss. It began simply, but quickly evolved into a much deeper, more heated thing, leaving Aoba's head spinning.

“Amazing,” he agreed, feeling dizzy when Noiz pulled away to let him breathe. Noiz chuckled against his lips and gave him another short kiss, then began to move again in earnest. Aoba's eyes widened and he dug his nails into Noiz's back when he felt him hitting that one spot inside of him, the one that sent a hot wave of pleasure through his whole body.

Noiz looked pleased, like he'd found what he'd been aiming for. He repeated the movement and struck it again, drawing a hoarse gasp from Aoba's throat.

“The faces you make, the way you moan, the way you feel when I'm inside you... I want to remember all of it, and I want to feel even more. I want to feel and know every inch of you.”

What kind of perverse nineteen-year-old had he fallen for...? He was way above the level of any regular guy his age.

Aoba didn't know quite how to respond to something like that, and found it hard to think of anything when Noiz was short circuiting his brain with the relentless thrusts of his hips. He would've given him a light smack for saying things like that again, but he just couldn't do anything, all of his limbs feeling weak, like the intense pleasure thrumming throughout his body had turned them into jelly. The best he could do was moan and weakly scrape his nails over Noiz's skin, encouraging him to continue doing that amazing thing he was doing.

“Do you like how that feels?” he asked, sitting up a bit so he could look down at him. He pulled out almost completely, then slammed back in to hit that spot again. “It sure looks like you're enjoying it.”

What was he supposed to say to that? He was. He was enjoying it a lot, especially when Noiz pulled back. When he did that, Aoba could feel each of his piercings. It was hard to imagine what could possibly make it feel better than it already felt, but then Noiz wrapped his hand around his cock and gave him a few firm, hard strokes.

“I-if you do that-” Finally, he was able to speak, but Noiz looked at him like he didn't care the slightest. He continued to move his hand, dragging his palm up over the sensitive tip with every other stroke, as if he were trying to make him come. When he thought about how hard Noiz felt inside of him, noticed how rapid his breathing had become, he realized that he was also getting pretty close already.

He had to remind himself that the awkward first time they had in the guest house was a thing of the past. He didn't have to keep up with Noiz anymore because Noiz was nothing but an eager teenager once he had his feeling restored.

Aoba hummed happily to himself and tried to move his hips again, rocking himself into Noiz's thrusts.

“Oh? Is this a challenge now?” Noiz asked.

If it were, Aoba had the feeling he was about to lose spectacularly, but who was to say there were any losers in a challenge like this?

There also weren't any rules, so there was no reason for him to play fair.

Using the element of surprise to his advantage, he grabbed Noiz by the shoulders and quickly rolled them over. Noiz slipped out of him in the process, but Aoba quickly got back on, guiding his cock back inside of him. He slowly eased himself down onto it, and once it was all in, he was seated completely in Noiz's lap, pinning him to the futon.

Noiz's mouth opened and closed wordlessly like a fish, and he stared.

“Round one goes to me,” Aoba said proudly.

This was a really nice position. He could see everything while he was on top of him. It was no wonder Noiz liked to look at him while he was laying under him like that. It provided quite the view.

“Hey,” Aoba said, a sudden, crazy thought occurring to him. “Have you ever... What do you think about being on bottom?”

“Like this, or? Like with you in me?” Noiz asked. He seemed to be suffering from the same haze that Aoba suffered from when he was on his back. It took Noiz longer than usual to formulate an answer, obviously distracted. “Wouldn't mind it. I think I'd like that a lot if it was with you.”

Why did he have to mention it? Now he wasn't going to be able to stop thinking about it. That was his first misstep, the first step towards losing.

Noiz saw his chance and grabbed him by the hip with one hand, wrapping the other decisively around his cock. Aoba wasn't about to go down without a fight, though. They were both close to the finish line. The odds were still in the air. If he could just hold on for a bit longer...

The way Noiz was stroking his cock was just so good, though. He really wasn't playing around.

Gritting his teeth, Aoba moved his hips. Noiz pounded into him from underneath, but Aoba was still the one with the most control. For all of his attitude, Noiz was still just a kid, so Aoba knew that he had the upper hand. Each time he lifted up and sunk back down with a sweet roll of his hips, he could tell that he was drawing Noiz closer to his limits. He was trying not to show it, but the expression on his face was becoming more and more lewd and wanton the closer he came.

Putting his focus on Noiz kept his mind off of himself for a while, but Aoba wasn't going to last much longer either. Now that he was so close, though, he wanted to see what kind of face Noiz would make when he came. He wanted to see that more than anything, to watch him really come apart and show him that cute, vulnerable side of his.

“Aoba...” Noiz gasped. He wasn't one to make a lot of noise, but when little whimpers began to leak from his mouth, Aoba knew he had him. He looked like he was trying his hardest to hold on, but he was starting to fail. He released Aoba's cock so he could place his hands on his hips instead. His fingers scratched at his skin desperately, like he wasn't sure whether he wanted to help Aoba push his hips down onto him or if he wanted to make him stop.

As Noiz squeezed his eyes closed, Aoba leaned in, close to his ear and murmured, “Go on.”

It was just two small words, but he used the same, seductive voice he was used to using on the phone, the one that seemed to work on most guys. He heard Noiz's breath stutter, felt him grip his hips as he slammed into him one final time. Aoba leaned back in time to watch, feeling his heart about ready to burst when he saw the look on Noiz's face. His brows were pulled together, his bottom lip between his teeth, his lips curved down into an almost displeased frown, like a part of him was disappointed that this had to ever end.

Aoba could understand that sort of sentiment. He felt incredible and there was something unreasonably erotic about feeling Noiz coming inside of him. This was what the place in Noiz's heart was meant to feel like.

Noiz mumbled his name again as he came out of his post-orgasmic fog. Aoba was happy that he got to see his face when he came, but he was still hard, his cock anxiously dripping precum down the underside, begging to be touched. He was sure that Noiz must've still been very sensitive, so he moved his hips again to encourage him to touch him. Wincing, Noiz gave a laugh and put a hand around his cock.

“That was good,” he sighed. “It almost feels like too much to still be inside of you, but it's a feeling I could get addicted to.”

Noiz ran his other hand up Aoba's stomach, over his chest, and his eyes followed. Aoba felt himself getting hotter under his gaze and felt his cock twitch in Noiz's hand. Noticing the way he moaned when he stroked his palm over the head of his cock, Noiz began to focus his attention there. With that, it wasn't long before he lured his climax from him. Bracing himself with his palms behind him on the futon, Aoba tossed his head back and came with a moan, low in the back of his throat.

When he came back to his senses, he realized that he should probably get off. As he pulled off, he felt something else slip out and he yelped. Always one to do as he pleased, Noiz pushed one of his hands underneath him.

“What are-” His words stuck when he felt Noiz plunge his fingers inside of him. They curled in a beckoning motion, and what remained of the cum and lubricant dripped out into Noiz's palm. He still felt a little high off of his orgasm, but Aoba could clearly see where Noiz was going with that and he was _not_ going to let him put his hand anywhere near his mouth. Quickly, he grabbed a tissue from Noiz's tissue box with one hand and grabbed Noiz's wrist in the other, and wiped down his palm.

“Tch.” Noiz narrowed his eyes, like it was a shame that he hadn't let him taste-test it.

“No,” Aoba said sternly, incredulous.

It was a terrible segue for his thoughts to take, but that reminded Aoba that they still hadn't gotten anything to eat yet. So, after quickly cleaning himself up and shoving his legs back into his pants, he found where he'd left his coil so he could find a place that would deliver.

It seemed silly to him at first to suggest pizza, but he realized how long it must have been since Noiz had any. When he made the suggestion, Noiz seemed happy that he'd remembered what he liked. Once they both agreed on the toppings, Aoba gave the nearby pizza place a ring and placed their order, then flopped back onto the futon next to Noiz.

Looking up at the window, he noticed that it was rapidly getting darker outside, and he instinctively cuddled closer to Noiz's side. “I could get used to this,” he said, resting his head on his shoulder.

Noiz's lips flattened together and he made a sound to himself. “Don't get too used to it.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“Because,” he said, turning his face to nudge his nose against the side of Aoba's cheek, “you deserve better than this.”

Aoba gaped. “What are you saying? I'm happy with you the way you are. What more do you think I need? Just so you know, I've never been someone with super high expectations.”

Noiz looked aside, but he still seemed pensive. “I'll give it some more thought then,” he said.

Give _what_ more thought? They hadn't even been out of the hospital together for a day. It was too early for him to start thinking deeply about anything. Aoba would be happy if they could just eat pizza and lay around in Noiz's messy futon all night, nothing more.

Suddenly, a sound drew his attention. He rolled out of Noiz's arms and looked over at his coil, which still sat on the floor next to them, its face blinking with a new message. He picked it up and raised his brows when he saw who it was from.

“Oh shit,” he said, slapping a hand against his forehead. “I forgot to tell granny where I was going to be.”

The text was from Koujaku. He sounded frantic, asking where he was. It was likely that he was over at his place with granny, the two of them getting worried when he didn't show up for dinner. It was really unlike him to forget to tell her where he would be, but Noiz was... distracting, to say the least. As quickly as he could, he sent a text back to him.

To make him feel even guiltier, he noticed that he had also apparently missed a call. Or five. Or ten. Or... A lot.

“Damn, who are all of those from?” Noiz asked, resting his chin on Aoba's shoulder as he took a peek at his coil.

He sighed. “Koujaku. He's probably with granny. They really start to worry about me if I don't show up when they expect me to. I already sent a text, though. I told him to let granny know that I'm with you.”

Noiz stared at him, then smirked. “You've got guts.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked curiously.

“That guy obviously wants your dick. I can just imagine the look on his face right now...”

He thought Noiz was just acting cruel, but when he thought about it, Aoba realized that he was the cruel one. It felt odd to think that Koujaku had feelings for him, but if he were right about the way he had been acting, then there was a high chance that he'd just trampled his heart.

“W-what do I do?” he groaned, pushing Noiz off of his shoulder. “I feel like an asshole now.”

Noiz grabbed him around the waist and pulled him closer again. “He's never told you that he wants you, has he?”

“N-no... Not exactly, no.”

He patted Aoba's hip and turned his head to kiss his forehead. “Then don't worry about it. I know I'm not one to talk because I still don't completely understand other people's feelings, but this doesn't seem like something you have to worry about. Might even be a good thing.”

That was true. Koujaku didn't know that he suspected anything, but that wasn't going to stop Aoba from feeling worried.

At least Noiz did an excellent job of distracting him until the pizza came.


End file.
